Sunderland 1 Stoke City 1: James Hunter's big match verdict

Vital point secured by Sunderland's John O’Shea strike could make all the difference come the end of the relegation battle

Paolo Di Canio hugs Danny Graham at the final whistle as Jack Colback applauds the fans during the match between Sunderland and Stoke City

Sunderland passed a huge test of character last night.

Trailing to an early goal, down to 10 men and playing poorly; the Black Cats raised their game in the second half and battled back to claim a point that could prove crucial in their fight for survival.

In the final analysis, it may be just that single point that makes all the difference.

While Sunderland were desperate for the win that would have seen them reach the traditional 40-point safety benchmark, a draw was still enough to see the Black Cats join relegation rivals Newcastle and Norwich City on 38 points – and leapfrog the pair of them by virtue of their far superior goal difference.

All eyes will now be on Wigan’s game in hand against Swansea tonight.

A Latics win would see them become the fourth team currently on 38 points, and would lift them out of the relegation zone.

Sunderland may have deserved their point against Stoke, but they did it the hard way.

Stoke’s reputation as set-piece specialists goes before them, but sloppy defending from Sunderland allowed Jonathan Walters to give the Potters the lead from their very first corner inside the first 10 minutes.

Sunderland boss Paolo Di Canio said: “It was a massive point for us – that much is obvious.

“But it wasn’t easy because we gave an easy goal away from a corner, even though we knew before the start they have giants compared to our physical presence.

“So to concede from their first corner kick was very disappointing.”

To make matters worse, for the second game in a row, Sunderland had a man sent off.

Last week at Aston Villa it was Stephane Sessegnon who saw red, last night it was Craig Gardner who was dismissed for a horrendous studs-up tackle on Charlie Adam just after the half-hour.

Playing with 10 men at this stage of the season, while their Premier League future still hangs in the balance? Di Canio wondered aloud if his team are masochists!

“Craig’s bad challenge – maybe we are masochists,” he said.

“We have to find a way to handle our aggression. I love Craig because of his heart, passion and dedication, but we have to be careful.”

“With two games to go, we do not have time to recover from our mistakes.”

In the second half Sunderland produced a much-improved display.

Adam Johnson – who started the game as a second striker playing behind Danny Graham – was moved out to the right wing following the red card, and he shone in that position in the second period.

Just as at the other end, Sunderland’s goal came from a corner.

Republic of Ireland international John O’Shea reacted fastest to turn home after another Seb Larsson corner had taken a touch off Whitehead in front of goal.

Sunderland came closest to winning it, with Danny Rose clipping the outside of a post 10 minutes from time, but in the circumstances they will be more than happy with a draw.

Di Canio said: “We play against Southampton next at home, and that is a massive game for us – it will be like a Champions League final.”

If Sunderland beat the Saints, it will be celebrated like a Champions League win, too.

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